Project Planning & Development Pty Ltd (PPD) is a planning consultancy established by Trevor Ludeman. With 23 years of experience, Trevor is an expert in all areas of strategic and statutory planning, community consultation, mediation and representation at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), Building Appeals Board and panel hearings. PPD's people have a comprehensive background in all aspects of planning, so clients can rest assured that their project needs will be met.

Each year, PPD is involved in a wide range of projects throughout Victoria. The firm is involved in development projects in more than 40 municipal areas throughout the state, extending from Mildura to Gippsland and from Hume to the Mornington Peninsula.

PPD offers advice on legislation, processes and procedures. We create a development assessment of major applications detailing statutory and strategic planning, environmental, catchment and infrastructure issues.

To give you an understanding of some of the different planning applications we have become involved with over the past 12 months, please refer to the list below:

Our wide ranging experience in statutory planning has enabled PPD to complete audits for both State and Local Government. A recent project included:

Project Planning & Development Pty Ltd were employed by the Victorian Auditor General to audit two (2) planning departments with respect to compliance on statutory planning involving planning permit application and planning scheme amendments. Six municipalities were audited in total throughout Victoria.

This project involved the audit of both planning permit and planning scheme amendments to critique the systems in place to assure quality and provide assurance on compliance with the Act. The audit also specifically examined the timeliness of processing, pre-application processes, lodgement processes and notification and referral requirements and decision-making practices. This report was published in May.

Preparing a planning application often requires the specialist expertise of several consultants. PPD understands the issues, provisions, strategies and policies involved and can act as your project manager.

In this role, the PPD project manager simplifies and organises the application process.

The project manager also determines if you would benefit from additional experts who can help with issues such as heritage, traffic, infrastructure and vegetation.

The project manager prepares briefs, liaises with consultants and prepares responses to issues relevant to your site to ensure a successful application.

PPD provides expert representation should your planning application come before VCAT, an independent panel or a mediation meeting for review.

PPD has significant experience in presenting cases and can assess whether additional experts or information are needed to resolve objections. And, PPD represents your case without the emotional involvement in the project that can cloud objectivity.

PPD offers training courses for clients, customised to your needs.

Our experience in training dates back to 1999, when PPD director, Trevor Ludeman, developed a training package in response to a request from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE). The DNRE recognised a need to train planning staff in the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and to update staff on new format planning schemes approved during that period.

Since then, PPD training programs have proven successful with a wide variety of municipalities, referral authorities and developer groups using the program to upgrade staff skills and knowledge in planning and development issues. A separate program for developers and real estate groups focuses on residential development issues.

Trevor Ludeman also designed and conducted the ResCode workshop for RMIT – La Trobe consortium on behalf of the Department of Infrastructure. This consortium trained more than 800 people from the design and development industry, as well as planners and administrators from local and state government.